Folkloric costumes
The Syrians are the first who made costumes in a very creative way as the inscriptions and embroideries reflect the wide imagination and innovation.
The shapes and the colors of costumes differed according to the occasion such as the daily work festivals, victories and weddings.
The folkloric costumes in the Syrian coast constitute a mixture between the costumes of various successive cultures in the coastal region including the Canaanite and the Aramaic cultures.
Clothes were made of the available materials in the local environment such as cotton silk and wool through using handlooms.
The garments also differ according to the climate and the weather as the people of the coastal countryside wear certain types of clothes to be able to work at the farms for long hours.
Researcher in Folklore Faryal Salimeh al-Shweki said that men mainly wear a long white dress called “Qumpaz’’ instead of the pants and it has several types as it is wide in the saddle and it is reaches the ankles with two side holes to facilitate the movement.
Under the “Qumpaz’’ men also wear “al-Damir” which is a short cloak with broad lines and it is made of black brown or white wool and it reaches only the knees in order not to hinder the movement.
She added that the dress has sleeves which are wide at their ends and the collar and sleeves of the garment are decorated with silk. The costumes of women are decorated with embroideries from the inside and the outside and their lining is made of broadcloth and the garment can be worn on both sides and it is dyed with dark colors.
Men in the coastal region started to wear the fez in the mid 20th century after the Ottoman occupation and its shape differed according to the social status of the person.
The dress of the bride in the past was like that of the Oleander which is similar to the color of soil and later the bride started to wear white dress and she put ribbons on her hair while in the 1950s the bride used to wear a white transparent veil along with the white dress.
Haifaa Mafalani